Conservative activists accused Bank of America of misleading about its ties to Planned Parenthood during the company’s annual shareholder meeting Wednesday.
Tax documents for Bank of America’s nonprofit arm, published by conservative activist group 2ndVote, show the bank donated over $50,000 to various Planned Parenthood affiliates in 2017, the most recent year available.
A conservative shareholder, Justin Danhof, asked Bank of America executives about the donations during a question-and-answer session at the meeting. Danhof, who is also general counsel for the conservative National Center for Public Policy Research, recorded the exchange and published the audio to YouTube.
Danhof asked Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan if he could guarantee that matching gifts constituted the entirety of the company’s financial support of Planned Parenthood, and asked him to address pro-lifers he said are upset about the donations, according to the audio.
Moynihan deferred to Andrew Plepler — Bank of America’s global head of environmental, social and governance — who gave a limited answer focused on donations from matching employee gifts, according to the audio.
“We have a very robust matching program, we make about 70,000 matching gifts, about 170 of those were to Planned Parenthood,” Plepler said on the audio. “Any eligible, authorized by the IRS, 501(c)3 [charity] is eligible for our program, including right to life groups.”
He didn’t address whether Bank of America’s support of Planned Parenthood goes beyond matching employee gifts, which 2ndVote said was misleading.
2ndVote executive director Robert Kuykendall pointed to two Planned Parenthood fundraisers, one in 2017 and one in 2018, that listed Bank of America as a corporate sponsor.
“Bank of America has portrayed to customers and investors that its financial support for Planned Parenthood is limited to matched gifts through its charitable foundation,” Kuykendall said in a statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“However, our research has uncovered Bank of America sponsorships of posh fundraising galas in New York benefitting Planned Parenthood’s abortion business,” Kuykendall added. “It appears Bank of America has been content to pass the buck and blame employees, rather admit the company directly helps advance Planned Parenthood’s abortion agenda.”
2ndVote is leading a petition campaign asking Bank of America to cease giving to Planned Parenthood. The petition had more than 3,300 signatures as of Thursday evening.
Bank of America did not return TheDCNF’s request for comment.
